How did you get past learning on your own to working on real projects?

I have been learning software development for the past 8 months and still have trouble working on projects I did not help build from the ground up. I have tried to contribute to multiple open source projects (mostly JS libraries like Gatsby or React) but have not been able to successfully merge a pull request. Usually the reason being the commit does not provide enough to improve the project. Even though I feel confident in my skills they don't seem to be enough to land my first job. I have created multiple small projects and try to learn as much as I can but it lately has felt more like running in a circle. I would love to hear some ideas or things you have tried to get to the next level in my development career.