Help!

So I'm new to python, and OOP, and I'm trying to find a way to open a connection to a mysql database, and leave that connection open so I can continue to use through the life of the program. So far, I've only seen code that will open the connection, and then close it when the sql query has been run. This method seems to add overhead and wasteful of my server's resources. Again, I apologize for being new, but any and all help would be appreciated.