How do I install MySQLdb on my MacBook or is there a way I can skip install and use sqlalchemy without it?

To address the MySQLdb error - try reinstalling the package and then test just that.

sudo easy_install pip 
pip install MySQL-python
python -c "import MySQLdb"

https://stackoverflow.com/a/22513919/475228

The above link would be if you can’t get this going - using homebrew to install MySQL helps with path and getting you set up with the proper environment / diagnostics and easy updating as the software gets patched over time. But, you don’t need that to reinstall the package that threw the error.

Also - be sure you choose python3 or python2 - it’s a bit of a hassle to mix them if you can even get that to work. If you are going to have both I’ll double down on using homebrew to manage things instead of using XAMPP.